Locking device for motor vehicles



March 1.2, 1929. A. sAvoY LOCKING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July28, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet A TTORNEYS.

March 12, 1929. A. sAvoY LOCKING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July28, 1926. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. L/f/ @Var/Ly,

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 12, 1929.

UNITED STATES ALBERT SAVOY, 0F NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSET'I.

LOCKING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

Application led July 28,

This invention relates to a locking device for motor vehicles moreparticularly automobiles; and has for its object to provide a lock igorthe steering device ot a motor vehicle in which no keys are used tooperate the same but which is operable by the setting of an operatingmember to a combination of predetermined positions.

A further object of the invention is to lock the ignition ot' the motorvehicle simultaneously with the locking of the steering mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for soundingthe horn or audible signal of the motor vehicle when an attempt tounlock the same is made by one who is not acquainted with thepredetermined positions to which the operating member must be moved toaccomplish the desired unlocking movement.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists ot' certainnovel features of construction, as will be more fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmental side elevation of the steering column of amotor vehicle with my improved locking device mounted thereon.

Figure 2 .is an elevation partly in section ot' the improved lockingdevice.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the locking device.

Figure 4 is a side elevation at right angles to that shown in Figure 3,with the outer casing broken away to expose certain of the operatingparts.

Figure 5 is a perspective view ot the disc rack member.

Figure 6 is a side elevation showing the mounting of the rack member onthe body of the device.

Figure 7 is a fragmental detail partially in section of the dog andplunger showing their relation to the rack.

Figure 8 is a fragmental detail of the dog and auxiliary plunger showingits relation to the rack and body of the device.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relation of thislocking device to the electric circuit of a motor vehicle.

Figure 10 is a view partly in section showing the lock set to one sideof the steering post to throw its bolt to lock this post.

Thieving of automobiles, as is well known,

1926. Serial No. 125,405.

is quite prevalent and automobile thieves are in many instances expertmechanics and can readily pick the ordinary lock provided on a motorvehicle for preventing theft, and to prevent such thieving, I haveprovided a device which is ditlicult to unlock by one unacquaintedtherewith and which operates a combination lock that is, the operatingdial must be set to a certain combination of predetermined positions tocause an unlocking of the device and in order that any attempt to unlockthe device by an unauthorized person or one not acquainted with thecombination, may be readily apparent, I have provided means by which thehorn or audible signal of the motor vehicle will be sounded upon themoving of the operating dial in a direction other than that necessary torelease the lock; and the following is a detailed description of onemeans by which these advantageous results may be accomplished Vithreference to the drawings, 10 designates the dash board ot' a motorvehicle through which projects a steering column 11 of the steeringwheel 12 and about which adjacent the dash there is mounted my improvedlocking device 13, which consists of a sleeve 14 adapted to be securedto the column 11.

0n the sleeve there is mounted the body 15 of the device in which isslidably mounted a locking member or pin 16 for projecting through anopening 17 in the steering column 11 and entering into one of aplurality of openings 18 in the steering post 19 when in registry withthe opening 17 in the column 11 to lock the post against rotationrelative to the column and thus prevent the operation of the steeringmechanism.

The pin 16 is loosely mounted on one arm of a bell crank lever 20 and aspring 22 attached to the other arm tends to swing this lever on a pivot21 intermediate its ends to force the locking pin 16 into said openings.

.A plunger 23 is slidably mounted in the body and has a flat portion 24which engages the end of the bell crank lever 20 to swing the same onits pivot 21 against action of the spring and move the locking pin 16 toreleased or unlocked position.

The end 25 of the plunger is suitably shaped so that its forms one ofthe teeth of the rack disc 26 as is clearly illustrated in Figure 5.This rack disc is mounted upon the body 15 by means of leaf springs27which is rotatable relative to the sleeve 14.

by means of a handle 29 and on this collar there is carried a dial 30having characters thereon to indicate the different positions ot thedial relative to a lixed point 31 on the dash 10.

The outer end of this collar is provided with a series of teeth 32 forengagement with a corresponding series of teeth 33 on the collar 34fixed on the sleeve 14 and a spring 35 is provided for moving the sleeve28 to cause these teeth 32 and 33 to enter, engage and prevent movementof the dial. y

On the under side ot the dial 30 there is a plate 57 carrying a dog 36which has a ball end 37 suitably mounted in the socket 38. This dogis ofa length greater than the distance between the dial and the rack so thata rotation ot the dial in the direction of the arrow in Figure 4 causesthis dog to drag over the teeth 39 of the rack while spring 4t) assistsin holding the dog in engagement with these teeth.

In order to press the plunger 23 inwardly the dog 3G is moved by meansofthe dial until it engages the end 25 ot' the plunger at which time thedial is rotated in the opposite direction which forces the dog 3G andplunger inwardly to cause it to assume a position at right angles to therotative movement ot the dial, as illustrated in Figure This inwardmovement of the plunger 23 swingsthe bell crank lever on the pivot 21and withdraws the pin 16 from locked position. It is, of course,understood that'the dial is unclutched by inward pressure of the handle29 to release the teeth 32 and 33 before such rotative movement of thedial may take place.

It a person is not acquainted with the position of the dial necessaryfor causing the dial to press the plunger inwardly and should attempt bymeans of reverse rotation to accomplish this result, the dog 36 wouldengage some tooth 39 which would cause the rack to rotate slightlyagainst the tension ot the springs 27, which would cause 4either one otthe contact pins 42 carried by this rack to engage a cooperating contact43 to complete an electrical circuit through Wires 44, battery 45,audible signal or horn 46, and wire 47 to sound the audible signal. Thiswould occur each time the dial is turned when the dog is in a positionother than in engagement with the end 25 of the operating plunger.

In order to make the movement oft the dial a. threecharacter combinationand to make the unlocking of this device less accessible, I have soshaped the end 25 of the operating plunger 23that it will be pressedinwardly by an engagement of the dog 36, when it is in but one positionof inclination, for instance, I have illustrated in Figure 7, the dog 35as inclined in a direction which by a movement of the dial in thedirection of the arrow will not cause the plunger to the pressedinwardly, the shaping of the tooth 25 being such that the dog will slideoff and engage the tooth 4l which will move the rack and sound thesignal rather than f press the plunger inwardly. It is therefore,necessary in order to press this plunger inwardly to have the dog 36positioned on an incline, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 7, inorder that the reverse rotation of the dial will cause the dog to assumea position as in Figure 2 and press the plunger inwardly; and in orderthat the dog may be reversed into this position ot inclination, I haveprovided an auxiliary or dummy plunger 48 having an end 49 forming acup-shaped tooth in the rack 26, which plunger is pressed outwardly bymeans ot a spring 50. This plunger is ot such shape that the dog when inengagement therewith in either position ot inclination will press thesame inwardly and permit the reversing ot rotation of the dial andinclination of the dog.

From tho above description it will.' be seen that by throwing the dialto locked position by a rotation in a direction to ineline the dogs thatit cannot be. opcraterhfin order to release the plunger 23 it will benecessary to rotate the dial to the position in which the dog engagesthe auxiliary plunger to reverse its inclination and the movement of thedial in order to be 'able to rotate the dial to a position with the dogin engagement with the actuating plunger to cause it to be moved to anunlocked position.

It will thus be seen that three positions ot the dial will be necessarytor the completion of unlocking; iirst, a movement to a character corresondinv with the aosition oi the dog 36 in engagement-with the auX-iliary plunger 48; second, movement/by a reverse rotation to a charactercorresponding to a position of the dog 36 when inY engagement with theplunger 23, and third,

a movement to a character corresponding toy a position in which the dogwill become lOS straightened. while at right angles to the Y rotationoit the dial, as illustrated in Figure 3, in order that the dog maypress the plunger inwardly to released or unlocked position. l I

In locking the, steering mechanism of a motor it is also desirable tolock the ignition mechanism at the sameY time so that the.

engine of the automobile cannot be started and the automobile operatedwheny the same can not be guided and to accomplish this I have provideda switch having terminals 51 and 52 in proximity to the movement of thelock pin 16, whereby a movement of the pin 16 to unlocked positioncloses the contacts 51 and 52 which are held open by the inherentnatural spring of the stock to complete the circuit trom the battery 45thli'ough wire 53, contacts 51 and 52, wire 54, distributor 55 and wire5G.

It will be readily understood that the combinations ot position orcharacter on the dial and rotation to the din'erent positions may bevaried by adjusting the dial plate 30 relative to the carrying plate 57or a ditlierent rack may be provided with openings 59 or plungers atdiliierent points in the rack to provide a diliferent setv ol?combinations or positions for the release ot' the locking movement. Aiurt-hcr variation might be accomplished by the providing of a dog etdifferent lengths, and various other Ways might readily be provided aswill occur to the skilled mechanic to multiply the differentcombinations For i'vlilllerent locks built in accordance with thestructure here illusi, trated.

lt will also be apparent that to stop the engine ot a motor vehicle thedevice must be placed in such position as to not only lock the ignitionbut also lock the steering post, it being understood that should theopenings` 18 not register with the openings 17 at the time the loe-k isapplied these openings may be made to register by moving the steeringpost at which time the wheel would be instantly locked and the ignitionwould also be disconnected and the engine stopped and locked.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a lock to prevent the steeringof motor vehicles and at the same time lock the ignition and provide ameans by which the audible signal ot the device will be operated upontampering with the locking device by unauthorized persons.

Instead ot mounting the locking mechanism on the wheel post, I may setthe same to one side thereof as at GU, see Figure 10 and support thedevice on the dash or instrument board 61, in which ease the body of thelock is connected to the post 11 by a clamp bracket G2 through which thelock bolt 63 is operated by the lock mechanism above described, toengage the wheel shaft 11 and lock the same in thedesired position.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the constructionillustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve theprivilege of resorting to all the niechanical changes to which thedevice is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only bythe terms oil the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle, a steering column,

a steering post in said column, a member for locking said post againstrotation relative to said column, resilient means tending to move saidmember to locked position, a rotatable dial, and meansI responsive tothe movement of said dial to predetermined positions by a rotativemovement thereof in opposite directions to cause withdrawal of saidmember from locking position against the action of said resilient means.

2. In a motor vehicle, a steering column, a steering post in saidcolumn, a member for locking said post against rotation relative to saidcolumn, spring means for pressing said member to locked position, aplunger for withdrawing said member against said spring means, arotatable dial, and a dog operated by the rotation of said dial forcausing said plunger to unlock said member.

3. In a motor vehicle, a steering column, a steering post in saidcolumn, a member for locking said post against rotation relative to saidcolumn, spring means for pressing said member to locked position, aplunger for withdrawing said member against said spring means, arotatable dial, a dog operated by the rotation of said dial for causingsaid plunger to unlock said member, and means for locking said dial inset position.

4. In a motor vehicle, a steering column and a steering post in saidcolumn, each having an opening therein, said opening registering incertain relative positions of rotation, a pin for entering said openingsto lock the post against rotation relative to said column, spring meansfor moving said pin to locked position against said spring pressure, atoothed rack, said plunger having one end 'forming a tooth oit saidrack, a rotatable dial, a dog carried by said dial of a length greaterthan the distance between said dial and rack to be dragged over theteeth of said rack by the rotation ot said dial, said dog being operableby a reverse rotative movement ot said dial when in engagement with saidplunger tooth to press said plunger and unlock said post.

5. In a motor vehicle, a steering column and a steering post in saidcolumn, each having an opening therein, said opening registering incertain relative positions of rotation, a pin for entering said openingsto lock the post against rotation relative to said column, spring meansfor moving said pin to locked position, a plunger for withdrawing saidpin from locked position against said spring pressure, a toothed rack, adog for operating said plunger, said plunger having one end forming atooth in said rack and shaped to be depressed by a movement of the dogin but one direction, an auxiliary plunger having one end shaped to forma tooth in said rack and depressible by said dog to permit the reversingot' said dog and dial, said dog being carried by said dial and of alength greater Vthan the clistanee between said dial and rack to bedragged over the teeth of said rack by the rotation of said dial, saidclog being operable by a reverse rotative movement of said dial When inengagement With said plunger tooth to press said plunger and unlock saidpost.

6. In a motor vehicle, an ignition eireuit, a switch in said Circuit, asteering eolumn, a steering post in said column, a member for closingsaid switch in one position and for looking said post against rotationrelative to said column and at the same time permitting said switch toopen in another position ol" its movement7 a dial, and means operated bythe manual manipulation of said dial for moving said member.

7. In a motor vehicle, an ignition Circuit,

ALBERT SAVOY.

